Policemen cast their votes

KINABATANGAN: Early voting for the Kinabatangan parliamentary and Lamag state by-elections ran smoothly yesterday, involving police personnel scheduled for duty on polling day.

It was conducted at the district police headquarters here, with one polling stream opened for the process, said Kinabatangan OCPD Supt Ravi Duraisamy.

“The early voting involves police personnel who will be on duty on polling day, allowing them to fulfil their responsibility as voters,” he told reporters yesterday.

Supt Ravi said a total of 176 early voters were expected to cast their ballots at the centre.

As of 9am, 38 voters, or about 20%, had cast their ballots.

Done: (From left) Police corporal Mohamed Faizal Hossen, Sahrulnizam Alan dan Ahmad Shalihin Rosli holding up their ink-stained fingers after voting at the Kinabatangan district police headquarters. — Bernama

In a separate development, he said police have issued 128 permits for ceramah and campaign activities for the two by-elections as of Monday, involving candidates from Barisan Nasional, Parti Warisan and an independent candidate.

“To date, no permit applications have been rejected, and all parties are adhering to the guidelines that have been issued,” he said, adding that police have received only one complaint during the campaign period, which has been referred to the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Election Commission.

Supt Ravi also said 927 police personnel from nearby district police headquarters and the Sabah police contingent have been deployed to help ensure the smooth conduct of the polling process. Polling for the Kinaba­tangan parliamentary and Lamag state by-elections will be held on Saturday.